Real Zeros of Algebraic Polynomials with Dependent Random Coefficients

The expected number of real zeros of polynomials a ₀ + a ₁ x + a ₂ x ² +…+a _n?1 x ^n?1 with random coefficients is well studied. For n large and for the normal zero mean independent coefficients, irrespective of the distribution of coefficients, this expected number is known to be asymptotic to (2/π)log n. For the dependent cases studied so far it is shown that this asymptotic value remains O(log n). In this article, we show that when cov(a _i , a _j ) = 1 ? |i ? j|/n, for i = 0,…, n ? 1 and j = 0,…, n ? 1, the above expected number of real zeros reduces significantly to O(log n)^1/2.